Monster
by Lavenderlash
Summary: Olive is forced to move after being expelled from her school in Tennessee. Why her family moved all the way to California, she doesn't know, but she's got bigger things to worry about; Her new friends are hiding something, a killer is on the loose, and she's determined to find out what exactly is going on in Beacon Hills - and why she can see things that no one else can see.
1. New Beginnings

** I feel horrible that I didn't include this in the prologue, but - this story will contain dark and triggering themes at certain points, and I'll be certain to give a warning beforehand. Why I forgot to add that in first, I don't know, but I just felt like that should be established. **

**Alas, I don't own Teen Wolf - but I do own season one of it. **

* * *

"_Good job, babe_."

Boxes that were scattered around my room were the first things I saw when I opened my eyes, but when I closed them for a quick second, I imagined my old room, back home with the rest of everything I reluctantly left behind.

When my eyes fluttered open for the second time, they narrowed at the rising sun's light that danced across the room and right into my face. I groaned loudly, pulling my soft, fluffy covers over my head to block it out.

If I could just go back to sleep, that would be wonderful. I didn't want to get up, and that was how I had felt since 8th grade, getting progressively worse throughout the beginning of 9th grade until the day it happened. It got so bad that I nearly ended up going to court over the matter - but my parents obviously didn't care if I went or not.

They didn't care about anything, really. They didn't talk to my brother and I, shutting us and everyone out, and it was sad that I had gotten so used to it that I didn't bother talking to them. They used to care, there are old photographs, home videos, and memories to prove it; but I guess what Allison said in The Breakfast Club is true: "_When you grow up, your heart dies_."

And I didn't want to be like them.

To get back to the point, I was snuggling up in my comforter, ignoring everything around me as best as I could - which was hard for someone who had gone through so much in a matter of months. My problem was that I was a daydreamer, and being a daydreamer wasn't good for someone with post traumatic stress disorder and dysthymia. Once I start thinking about things, I can't stop. Like, right now, I was beginning to think back to four months ago, when I lost it and smashed that girl's - Sierra Stevens's - face into a cafeteria table. It was the whole reason I was in this place now, thousands of miles from my real home.

Everything was my fault. If I hadn't had snapped and pummeled her face in, I wouldn't have gone to ALC for the rest of the school year. If I hadn't snapped, I wouldn't have been expelled - yes, expelled - and been forced to relocate to an entirely different place because no other school in Tennessee would take me. If I hadn't have pummeled her face in, I could've been visiting his grave.

But I wasn't in Tennessee anymore. I was in California - Beacon Hills, to be exact. Why we had moved across the country, I wish I knew, but I didn't. It was nice, and kind of reminded me of home, which was surprising, because I thought that California would be sunny and had tons of beaches everywhere instead of a large forest-y area.

Maybe, something told me in the back of my mind, we moved so far away because my parents cared for my well-being deep down and didn't want me to suffer anymore.

But I scoffed loudly at the voice in my head, rolling onto my side and letting out a deep sigh. If I didn't get out of bed soon, Declan - my brother - would surely get me up, and I knew he wasn't happy about the move, either. It was my fault that he had to leave behind his friends, his girlfriend, and every other memory he had of the place we once called home.

As if reading my thoughts, I poked my head out from under the covers and saw that my brother appeared at my door, giving me a look I couldn't decipher. His dark hair was disheveled in a signature bed-head look, covering his eyes that were peeking out behind a mess of strands.

"Get up. Schools here start an hour later than what we're used to." His voice was thick with sleep, but his annoyed tone sounded the same as usual.

Declan wasn't a jerk. At least, not most of the time, and he knows what I've been through the past few months, he just wasn't a fan of me getting into an enormous amount of trouble afterwards. He's worried about me, because we're the only person the other can rely on.

I curled up into my covers again, ignoring his deep, annoyed sigh as I closed my eyes. High school wasn't as bad as it seemed in the movies, but now that I was the new girl, what if I turned into some cliche, 'outsider' who was stuffed in lockers and trashcans? Were the lockers here even big enough to fit into?

"Olive." Declan warned, but I continued to ignore him. "Olive, if you don't get up, I'll get you up myself."

"What are you going to do?" I asked in a taunting tone, narrowing my eyes at him.

He rolled his eyes and moved towards me, throwing the covers off despite my protests, then grabbed hold of my ankles and yanked me off the bed before I could grab the headboard.

"Declan!" I yelled as I landed hard on my backside, too tired to come up with curses that I'm usually full of. If there was an award for cussing, I'd be second to a sailor.

"Get ready, or you can walk."

* * *

So that was how I ended up sitting on a bench in front of Beacon Hills High School an hour later, fidgety, nervous, and ever-so red-haired. I never was good with first impressions. I was too... nerdy. I was the three N's: Nerdy, nervous, and not good with first impressions.

A girl sat beside us, pushing her dark hair behind her ear, looking just as nervous as I was - Declan just looked bored and stared off somewhere. She glanced at me, offering a small, nervous smile, and I smiled back at her. She was obviously new, just like Declan and I were. And if it wasn't obvious that she was new, she would've walked right past me and into the school like everybody else. But we were told to sit out here on my first day of school so someone could get us, and it looked like she got the memo as well. My eyes darted around the area to look for any more new kids, but it seemed like we were the only ones.

"Are you new, too?" She asked, adjusting the shoulder strap on her bag. Her expression stated that she knew the answer, but was just trying to make small talk, and I was fine with that.

I nodded, "Just moved here from Tennessee. I'm Olive, and this," she hooked her thumb over at her brother, "is my brother Declan. You?"

"Olive?" _Here we go_ - I always had some smart remark about my name being a food, but I really didn't want to hear anything about it unless I said something about it - but, she surprised me by her next statement, "It's unique, I like it. I'm Allison, I just came here from San Francisco."

"Thanks, I've surprisingly never met an Allison." I grinned, showing a little of my crooked teeth, "Are you from San Francisco?"

"Really? There were tons in San Fran," She let out a laugh, "But no, I'm not. I've moved so many times I've practically forgotten where I was born."

"Seriously? This is the first time I've moved."

"Lucky you." She responded non-maliciously. She opened her mouth to say more when her phone began to ring, sending me a sheepishly smile before taking it out of her bag and taking the call.

"Mom, three calls on the first day is a little over-doing it." She let out a nervous laugh, rummaging through her bag. I smiled sadly to myself; I wish my mom worried about Declan and I enough to call us three times in one day.

"Yes, I've got everything." She said, digging through her bag faster, "Everything except a pen -" She turned to me, her eyes slightly wide, "- do you have a pen?"

I shook my head, quirking my mouth to the side, "'Fraid not."

Allison let out a sigh, looking up at the sky before she put her head back down, her eyes going slightly wide. "I was asking my new friend for a pen, mom, it's okay. Okay, okay, gotta go. Love you." She pulled the phone away and hung up, her eyes flickering to me as I grinned widely at her calling me my new friend. "What?"

"Nothing." I snickered, glancing over at a man who was walking towards us, whom I assumed was the assistant principal. He was dressed in a suit, which only furthered my suspicions of him being either the principal or assistant principal.

"Sorry for the wait." He apologized to us, and I shook my head, hoisting Declan and myself up. Declan shrugged his arm out of my grasp, cutting his eyes at me, and I smiled at him in response.

"So, you said you grew up in San Francisco?" The man asked Allison as we began walking.

She shook her head, adjusting the strap to her bag. "No, I've moved around a lot."

"Well, hopefully Beacon Hills will be your last stop for a while." He then turned towards us as we walked into the school, and I noticed that the hallways were empty, "How about you two?"

I looked to Declan awkwardly, and he rolled his eyes. "This is our first move. We're from Tennessee."

"You don't have much of an accent." Allison pointed out, sounding slightly confused, as if every person in the Southern part of the United States had a southern drawl. I hoped she didn't think we drank moonshine and chewed tobacco, too.

I let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess we never really formed one."

We stopped outside a classroom, causing me to suddenly feel like bolting out of the school and never looking back. These people had grown up with each other, while the people Declan and I grew up with were back home, thousands of miles away; and we wouldn't be doing this if I hadn't lost it and pummeled a girl's face in.

The man turned towards Declan, pursing his lips slightly. "If you could wait here a moment, Declan, I'll escort you to your class when I'm done introducing them."

Allison and I both looked at each other; while she had a tired look from doing this so many times, my eyes were widening in horror. This - this was icing on the cake. Of course, I have to be introduced to a class full of people who already know each other - it was like a gladiator being shoved into a cage full of hungry, rabid lions.

But at least I wasn't going to be introduced alone.

Declan nodded, puckering his lips slightly before smirking, sending me a look that clearly read, "_Don't smash anyone else's face in_."

Assistant-Principal-man opened the door to the classroom and gave us what was probably meant to be an encouraging push, coming in behind us and setting his hands on each of our shoulders.

My heart hammered against my chest as everyone looked up at us, and I silently prayed that no one could hear it. My eyes scanned the room quickly, taking notice to a guy with shaggy hair on the other end of the room who was staring at Allison like she was a goddess, and I couldn't help but feel slightly jealous that she already had the attention of a cute boy. My gaze then settled on the kid sitting beside him, and I nearly fell over in shock as I swore I saw him, smirking at me with a wave of his hand - but I blinked, and he was replaced by the kid besides Shaggy, his eyes fixed on the Batman symbol on my shirt.

"Class," The man behind us's voice brought me out of my thoughts, "these are your new students, Olive Taisch and Allison Argent. Please do your best to make them feel welcome."

He clapped us on the shoulder and left the room to attend to my brother, while Allison and I shot quick glances at each other and moved towards the only open seats in the room - which happened to be right behind Shaggy and Buzzcut.

I eyed the back if his head wearily as I sat down, afraid he'd turn back into my dead boyfriend, but he stayed how he was, and I glanced over at Allison, who was being given a pen by Shaggy. He turned around, looking lovestruck by her accepting his pen, and she glanced at me with a slightly weirded-out expression. I raised an eyebrow, my eyes flickering to him.

"_He's cute_." I mouthed to her, my lips forming into a smirk as she looked flustered.

She glanced at him before looking back at me. "_I guess_."

I looked at her skeptically before my eyes flickered to the back of Buzzcut's head, jerking my head in his direction as I mouthed to her, "_He's cute, too_."

She glanced at him and shrugged, before turning her attention to the syllabus in front of her. I shrugged as well, turning back to the front of my desk to see that Buzzcut boy was staring at me.

When he saw that he had my attention, he narrowed the most beautiful brown eyes I had ever seen in my life at me, his lips puckering out almost comically. "Do you know anything about Batman, or are you just wearing that to fit in with the '_geek-chic_' trend?"

My eyebrows, which were already raised at Shaggy's pen actions, raised even further. "If I didn't know anything about Batman, I wouldn't wear merchandise related to Batman."

"Tell me, then, some facts that only true fans would know." He challenged, and I copied him, puckering my lips.

"'_True fans_?' Are you implying that just because some fans have seen the movies but not read the comics, but were genuinely interested in the series and enjoyed it, that they aren't true fans?" I shot back at him, enjoying the slightly-shocked expression on his face.

"Alright, tell me some facts that 'genuinely interested fans' would know." He mimicked.

"Robin was only meant to be in one issue, which was issue 38 of the Detective Comics, but the comic sold twice as well and he was kept in. Um, Batman carries a kryptonite ring with him in case he has to fight Superman, who gave it to him in case he turned evil. Oh, and Batman's father once met Superman's father, who asked Batman's father if Earth was a suitable place for his son." I finished with the largest smirk I could muster while he sat there with his mouth agape. Had he really not expected me to know my stuff?

"Uh-well, what were Superman's and Batman's fathers' names?" He stammered, his eyes fixated on me.

"Jor-el and Thomas." I rested my chin in the palm of my hand, blinking at him. If this guy wasn't so cute, I'd be pissed off that he challenged my knowledge of Batman. I mean, who didn't love Batman? Bruce Wayne, what a guy.

"You're- wow, that was impressive." He breathed, taking out his hand and thrusting it towards me, "Stiles."

Just when my eyebrows were back on my face in normal position, they traveled upward again. "What?"

"My name," he said slowly, "is Stiles. Stiles Stilinski."

I couldn't help but laugh. When the small giggle escaped my lips, I quickly covered my mouth, realizing how rude it was - but I couldn't help it, what kind of name was that? "Your name is Stiles Stilinski?"

"Yeah, it is. Well, Stiles is a nickname, but my real name's not important," he waved his hand around impatiently, turning his head to make sure the teacher wasn't paying attention, "Your name, on the other hand, is a food and a word I'm pretty sure is made up."

I rolled my eyes goodnaturedly. "Technically, your name is actually made up, considering it's a nickname."

"Yeah, well, olives are disgusting." Stiles said, glaring at me.

"You're disgusting." I replied, glaring right back at him.

"No, I'm incredibly handsome, and shouldn't be associating myself with someone as disgusting as yourself."

"That's a laugh and a half." I ended that with actually laughing. This kid was cute and wasn't a complete tool - I liked him.

"Well, you know what else is a laugh? You."

I brought my hand up to my chest, feigning a hurt expression. "That hurts."

His eyes grew wide, and he flailed around a bit before looking at me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it - not-not literally! You're far from laughable!"

I was so confused that it made my head hurt, before I realized he mistook my expression for one of actual hurt. "Whoa, dude, I was just kidding. Calm down."

"What? Oh." Stiles's eyes went back to normal size, and his previous expression was back. "I like you."

At my confused expression, he flailed around again, an embarrassed red tint on his cheeks. "I mean, you're cool, and you have weird-colored hair and actually know stuff about Batman. So, this is me - the incredibly handsome and super cool Stiles Stilinski - offering you - the friendless and lonely Olive _whateveryourlastname_ is - my friendship."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that his hand was still outstretched, twitching nervously. What did I have to lose? He seemed pretty cool, he had a nice face to look at, and he was the second person to want my friendship. Maybe moving here wasn't so bad, after all.

"I need someone to help me find my classes anyways." I shrugged, taking hold of his hand and shaking it. As soon as my hand touched his, my hand felt tingly and an image of him, Shaggy, and another girl came into vision, leaning against their lockers as he watched someone, saying, "_beautiful people herd together_."

I pulled my hand back quickly, staring at the palm with a worried expression. _What the hell was that?_

The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom, and I shook my head, getting myself out of the daze. It was nothing, I was just imagining the spark and the locker scenario. I mean, I daydreamed 24 hours, 7 days a week, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

_Was it?_

"Are you coming or not?" Stiles's voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I scrambled up, following after him. For a moment, I was confused as to why I didn't recognize any of these people before I remembered that I wasn't back home anymore.

Stiles waited for Shaggy to walk over to him, who was staring at Allison intently. Allison gave me a fleeting look, begging me to come with her since we were the two new girls, and I hesitantly turned towards Stiles and his friend.

"Yeah, uh, I'm gonna follow Allison because new kids stick together, y'know, ride-or-die. But I'll probably bother you later, because I'm not done being offended over you challenging my Batman knowledge."

Stiles rolled his eyes while Allison and his friend gave me questioning looks. "That's the last time I'm offering you my friendship."

"Maybe if you hadn't forced it on me, Mr. Made Up Name." I sassed, taking hold of Allison's arm, squeezing past Stiles and his friend, and ushering her out of the classroom, "I'll see you later!"

Allison chuckled beside me, glancing over her shoulder at the door as we went into the hallway. "How have you already made a friend, and I haven't?"

"Are you implying that no one would ever want to be friends with me?" I asked her, cocking an eyebrow. I was feeling surprisingly comfortable already, despite me being 30 minutes into the school day. Which was, well, surprising. Usually, it took me a little while to be totally comfortable in a new person's presence; and here I was, the new girl, insulting boys and willing to be my usual sarcastic self. The Olive from four months ago was cheering for me, glad that I was slowly getting better.

"What? No!" Allison's eyes went wide and I laughed quietly. "I'm just surprised, it was like you two had been best friends for years. Are you sure you're new?"

"I'm absolutely positive that I'm new here, just like my brother is." I grinned at her, looking over my shoulder to make sure that Stiles and Shaggy weren't behind us, before I turned back to face her, "Plus, it doesn't hurt to become friends with a cutie like him."

It was Allison's turn to cock an eyebrow as she grinned widely. "Does someone have a crush already?"

I scoffed. I wasn't going to just move on from _him_ so easily. "If anyone has a crush, it was Shaggy. If he didn't have the most adorable expression after you accepted his pen, I would've found it weird that he knew you needed one."

We stopped at her locker, or what I assumed was her locker, because she was turning to the combination numbers and everything, and my eyes flickered to the other set of lockers across from us, where Stiles and his friend were. His friend was staring straight at Allison, who was ignoring Stiles as he spoke, and I grinned a little as Allison shut her locker door and turned around, looking right back at Stiles's friend.

He offered her a small wave, and I swore that my cheeks were about to burst from me grinning so much as she waved back at him. However, my grin faded as a red-head, though it looked blonde, too, strutted up to Allison and I.

"That jacket is absolutely killer," She said, looking straight at Allison as if I wasn't there, "Where'd you get it?"

Allison shot me a panicked look, causing me to shrug. "My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco." She explained.

"And _you_ are my new best friend." She said, pouting out her lips and pointing at Allison. She then turned to me, eyeing me up and down, and I swore I saw Sierra -the girl I pummeled - sneering at me again. "I like your jeans."

"Thanks." I said, giving her a tight-lipped smile, before my expression dropped as I looked across the hall from me and saw Stiles, his friend, and the girl from my daydream. Straining my ears to hear their specific conversation, I let out a small gasp at what I heard.

"How is it that the two new girls have been here five minutes, and they're already in Lydia's clique?" The girl asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she glanced at us.

"'Cause they're hot," Stiles answered, and I was unable to fight the grin off my face before it was wiped off in an instant, "beautiful people heard together."

"Holy shit." I muttered, but thankfully no one heard me.

Okay, that had to be some sort of coincidence, right? I mean, I had just touched Allison and didn't daydream anything weird and possibly futuristic.

I shut my eyes tightly before opening them again, watching Stiles and the girl bicker, and tried to get into the conversation that was at hand. However, when I did, I nearly jumped five-feet in the air when a good-looking, but obvious douchebag, appeared out of thin air with his arm around the girl in front of us. He laughed at something Allison said, not paying a bit of attention to me.

"Football's a bit of a joke here," he answered, "We play lacrosse."

What the hell was lacrosse?

At the word 'football', I became homesick. Sure, it bored me to tears, but it was fun to watch - especially the home games. But, seriously, what in the holy hell was lacrosse?

Allison waved her hand in my face, causing me to blink rapidly. "Hello, yes."

"I was worried for a minute there." She smiled nervously before glancing at the couple in front of us, "I said I was going to watch practice with them for the free period and asked if you wanted to come."

I shrugged, my eyes flickering to the boys across the hallway. "I may. You go on ahead."

"You sure?"

I nodded, and she was already being pulled away by the girl before I could think of asking her to stay. I then walked over to Stiles, his friend, and the girl, giving them a half-hearted wave.

"Ditched already?" Stiles asked with a smug smirk.

"Guess I wasn't beautiful enough to herd with them." I answered with a sneer. His eyes widened considerably.

"You heard that?"

"You only have the voice leveling of a sound-system for the Statue of Liberty."

"You know, I'm starting to regret ever talking to you." Stiles said, rolling his eyes.

The girl stood there, watching us as we bickered for a moment or two, before opening her mouth. "So, you aren't in Lydia's clique?"

I couldn't help but laugh. I most definitely wasn't in who I assumed the strawberry-blonde was's clique. Were they alright people? Possibly. But I didn't fit in with them, and Lydia reminded me of Sierra.

"Do you really think someone like me could work with people like them?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow as I pointed to my red and orange tinted hair, down to my batman shirt.

"She's got a point." Stiles muttered, ignoring the look I gave him as he patted his friend's chest. "Scott, buddy, come on, we have to go to practice."

"What?" Scott asked, glancing around before looking at me confusedly. "Oh, right. Who's this?"

"Olive." I waved shyly at him.

"Scott." He waved back at me before turning to Stiles, "We should get to lacrosse, though."

"That's kind of what I just said." Stiles said sarcastically, flailing his hand around dramatically at that damned word I had heard three times now.

Before I could stop myself, I asked loudly, "What the hell is lacrosse?"

Maybe it was just my imagination, but everyone in the hallway turned to look at me after I said that, which caused me to shrink back slightly and wave around at everyone. "Hi, yeah, new."

This was a good enough reason for them to move on, and I sighed in relief that I wasn't going to be hounded on by a hundred or so lacrosse fans. Stiles and Scott, however, stared at me like I had grown an extra head. "What?"

"You don't know what lacrosse is?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"I'm used to football." I answered, feeling homesick again.

Stiles scoffed and muttered 'football' under his breath. "Then you're coming to practice with us so you can see what you're missing."

"Am I?" I sassed, putting the hand that wasn't holding my binder on my hip, and he nodded vigorously, grabbing both Scott and I's arms and ushering us towards the playing field, which I could see was pretty huge and foresty, very, very foresty. I thought California was all sunshine and beaches? But, then again, Tennessee wasn't all mountains and forests, either.

Stiles released his grip on me and pointed me in the direction of the bleachers, while I simply gave him a seething look - which looked hilarious to anyone passing by, seeing as a girl of 5'2 was having a glaring standoff with a tall freak of a boy. But our glaring was interrupted by a man who I could only describe as having the 'Oliver Wood' look in his eyes.

"Stilinski! Cut the flirting and get ready for practice! Who else is going to keep the bench warm? McCall?!" He shouted at him, and I burst out laughing as Stiles gave me one last look before jogging away. Who was this strange man, and could I become his best friend without getting into legal trouble?

I turned towards the bleachers tentatively, moving towards them with an unsure feeling in my stomach. That was, until I spotted Allison and the strawberry-blonde girl. Allison caught my eye and waved me over, and I quickly moved towards her, maneuvering over the steps.

"I see you made it." She said with a grin, glancing over at the lacrosse field.

"I was kind of dragged here." I explained, rubbing my arms to gain some warmth. It was barely fall, and California - how was it so cold here?

Allison shook her head. "Are you _sure_ you're not new?"

"What makes you think I am?" I asked, my eyes flickering to the field, searching for Stiles.

"I don't know.. You're just a people person, I guess." She shrugged, "You've already made two new friends, that's more than I've made."

The girl beside of Allison cleared her throat loudly, not bothering to look at us as she checked her nails, and Allison back-tracked, "Okay, I've made two friends, too, but I'm.. I don't know, awkward."

I couldn't help but laugh. Olive Taisch, a non-awkward people person? Allison had no idea of how I could be, and how I had been the past few months. I suppose being closed up and spacious for all those months had caused me to be so open in a new town. It was a new chapter in my life, a way to forget the past.

"_Don't_."

My head snapped up at the word, and I looked to Allison, furrowing my eyebrows. But I knew she hadn't said that, because the voice was too low-pitched, too familiar.

I looked back to the lacrosse field, my eyes scanning around again before they landed on a figure at the edge of the bleachers. It was shadowed and hunched-over, watching the players run out onto the field, and, feeling my stare, it slowly turned around, smiling wickedly.

"_Olive_." It said tauntingly, raising it's eyebrows in mock-confusion.

I recognized him anywhere.

Shutting my eyes tightly, I enjoyed the blackness. Why was he there, by the bleachers, all these miles away?

"Olive?"

I opened my eyes again, glancing at Allison, who was looking at me worriedly. "Are you okay?"

My gaze focused on the end of the bleachers, where the figure had been, before it found its way to the lacrosse bench where Stiles currently sat. Nervously tugging on the sleeves of my shirt so that they covered my shaking hands, I glanced back at Allison, offering a small smile

"Never better."

* * *

"So, what did you think?"

I glanced over at my new-found friend, nearly rolling my eyes. It was only my first day, and I felt that I was jumping too quickly into the friend status.

"It was... okay." I answered Stiles, hitching my bag up on my shoulder.

Watching lacrosse had to be number two on the list of things I didn't want to do, the first being moving here, but, hey, look where I was now.

It wasn't totally bad, though. I learned that Scott had some really sensitive ears after falling to his knees when the coach blew his whistle - then got decked in the face with a ball - and I also learned that he was practically a gymnastics god. The guy was swerving and flipping over people like nothing I've ever seen a teenage boy do before. No wonder Allison had her eyes glued to him the entire time.

"Just okay?" Scott asked, perplexed that I hadn't found the school sport fascinating.

"I like football better." I answered, my lips twitching up into a grin when I saw the expressions on their faces; you'd think I had slapped them.

"_Football_! Football, first off, is nothing compared to lacrosse. Sweaty, angry guys tackling each other over a ball made of pig skin? Yeah, that's weird." Stiles ranted, making exaggerated motions with his hands, "They also pat each other on the butt, too, which is weird to the max."

"_You're_ weird to the max." I retorted, glancing around the hallway for any sign of Allison. The strawberry-blonde, whose name I later found out was Lydia, had pulled her away and didn't bother to include me. But I didn't mind, it didn't bother me any.

"Where are you from, anyways?" Scott asked as we gravitated towards a classroom that read '**CHEMISTRY**'

Oh god, I hoped we didn't have to deal with chemicals today... or at all. If so; the school might as well have a plan ready in-case of fire or accidental student explosion.

"Tennessee." I answered, sending Stiles a challenging look. I was prepared for the hillbilly jokes, so if he was going to say something, I'd gladly insult him over his baby face.

"Really?" Scott asked, furrowing his eyebrows in thought, "You don't have much of an accent."

I scoffed. "Allison told me the same thing this morning," at the way his eyes lit up at the mention of her name, I nearly gagged, "You can even talk to my brother. No accent what so ever."

"There's another of you?" Stiles asked, puckering his lips out again.

"I regret letting you be the second person I became friends with." I muttered, finding a seat at the back of the classroom, next to a girl with black hair and a slightly-intimidating manner. Stiles and Scott sat in front of me, Stiles tilting his chair back to look at me.

"So do I, _princess_." He glared at me before something, or rather, someone caught his eye, and he nearly fell out of his chair trying to catch a glimpse of Lydia as she walked in with Allison. "And here comes the queen."

Lydia strutted in with Allison and Jackson, completely ignoring Stiles as he stared at her like Scott had stared at Allison, and I fought off the feeling of being left out and unimportant as best as I could.

Relax, I thought, You'll be okay. Just because someone ignores you for .5 seconds on your first day at a new school doesn't mean you're unimportant.

The bell rang and the teacher walked in shortly after, and as he introduced himself in a very arrogant manner, I realized that he was going to be one of those teachers, and I found myself unable to like him already. Stiles didn't seem to, either, because he glanced around the classroom, his jaw twitching irritably.

I took the time I should've been listening to think back to my hometown, wondering what everyone was doing. School had started there already, and I craved to be there rather than here, despite today actually going well.

"This guy has a major stick up his ass." The girl beside me whispered.

"Maybe he sat on a lacrosse stick." I whispered back, hoping that she wasn't just talking to herself. To my happiness, she grinned.

"Think Finstock would help him get it out?"

Finstock, whom I learned was the coach, the man I wanted to become friends with, and my economics teacher, would totally laugh his ass off at that situation.

"He'd be too busy taking candy from a small child."

"Or yelling at Greenburg. No one likes Greenburg."

I had no idea who Greenburg was, but we both looked at each other, our faces breaking out into tight-lipped grins to keep from laughing out loud.

We watched Mr. Harris intently, hoping that he hadn't noticed us talking, before we talked again.

"I'm Olive." I whispered to her.

"I'm Kennedy." She whispered back, "I like your hair."

I smirked, feeling a strong friendship vibe coming from her. "Thanks."

* * *

Declan opened the car door for me as I spotted him in the parking lot minutes after school had ended, ignoring the fact that I was hurrying as fast as I could towards him after saying goodbye to Scott, Stiles, and Kennedy. Why had he just opened the door? This was our first day at school, in a completely new town, and apparently a body had been found in the woods the day before - why would he just leave the door open like that? He usually bothers me about that.

My brother is a tricky soul.

I slid into the passenger seat, shutting the door, setting my bag at my feet, and reaching for the vanilla bean-scented hand sanitizer that I always kept in one of the cup holders. After a long day of touching things hundreds of other hands had touched, I couldn't wait to drown my hands in anti-bacterial liquids.

"How was your first day?" Declan asked like a parent would as he started his wonderful 2009 mustang. It was a beaut, and if I didn't usually skateboard to school (and would probably start tomorrow once I learned how to get to and from home,) I'd get one, myself - after I learned to drive, of course.

"It was better than I imagined, to be honest." I told him, tucking orange-red strands behind my ear, "What about yours?"

"Didn't beat anyone else up, then?" He asked with a small grin, pulling it back when he saw the look I gave him, "My day was okay. It's different, but I'll adjust to it."

I sighed loudly, tapping my fingers on the dashboard irritably. "Can you stop reminding me that it's all my fault we're here?"

Declan looked over at me as we stopped at a red light, sighing a little too loudly for my taste. "I'm not."

My eyes narrowed at him, "Yes, you are. I get it, I messed up majorly, but you didn't hear what she had said!"

"And what did she say?" He inquired as the light became green again.

My lips tightened as I thought back to it. Talking about it, and him in general, wasn't a subject I was fond of talking about.

"She said..." I took in a shaky breath, glancing at the window at an old, beat up blue jeep pulled into a road leading to the Beacon Hills Preserve. "She said.. she said that he killed himself to get away from me."

Declan slammed on the breaks, the mustang coming close to hitting the back of the car in front of us. Cars behind us honked, but Declan, for once in his life, didn't care about being orderly. "She said what?!"

"Declan!" I shouted, looking back at him with wide eyes, "Freaking drive!"

He glared at the people behind us and pressed the gas pedal, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "I can see why you smashed her face into a cafeteria table."

Rubbing my hands over my face, I shook my head. "I just lost it. I couldn't - her friends were laughing, Declan, laughing!"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Declan asked quietly, his voice full of rage. He knew how sensitive of a topic it was, so hearing about someone bringing it up, and in a way like that - well, it was kind of scary to see him like that. I mean, his attitude just did a complete 180 in the blink of an eye.

"I didn't want to." I replied, tears stinging my eyes. I hastily wiped a few with the back of my hand. I was hoping not to cry over it for once, but it seemed that every time I even thought of him I'd get upset over it.

He didn't say anything else, causing the car ride to become awkwardly silent. Silence I could live with, but when it was awkward, it was deadly. My eyes flickered to him every few minutes, but he continued to stare at the road, his hands clutching the steering wheel tightly. Declan always scared me when he was like this, and he was like this often.

When we finally pulled into the driveway of our overly-large and expensive house that we didn't need, Declan stayed in his seat, his hands still gripping the steering wheel. He slowly released it, his eyes flickering towards me.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I forgot that that happened -"

"I didn't." I snapped, swallowing the painful lump in my throat, "I can't. I can't forget."

Declan sighed and undid his seat belt slowly and carefully, while I was quick to snap it off when we parked. I was having such a great day, and here Declan was, reopening the wound that I had been patiently waiting to heal - but how can I ever heal with this much baggage?

"Did you have a good day at least?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"I told you that it was okay." I responded shortly, wrenching open the car door, slamming it shut, and moving towards the front door.

Declan followed after me, my bag that I left slung over his shoulder, along with his binder. "Olive, I'm sorry - I didn't mean to upset you, you know that!" When I continued to ignore him and opened the door, he let out a loud sigh, "Olive!"

He was lucky I didn't slam the door in his face and lock it, seeing as I was the one with the keys. But I knew that he was actually sorry, and that he was trying, which was more than our parents had done in the last four years.

I walked down the hallway and towards the stairs, my shoes slapping against the floor and creating a lonely echo. But I knew that my parents were home, not caring if their children had a good first day of school. It was sad that this was normal to Declan and I - that we had gotten use to our parents ignoring us and everything around them.

In thought of this, I turned around, causing Declan to nearly barrel into me. He stopped, his mouth beginning to form words, but I stopped him by grabbing my bag from him and turning back around. "I forgive you."

Forgiveness - It was a foreign word to me lately. It was impossible for me to say 'I'm sorry' because, most of the time, I didn't mean it - and what was the point of saying sorry if you weren't really sorry? You were just digging yourself a guilty hole, and there was already a guilty hole dug inside me, everything around it crumbling in.

He finally stopped trying to talk as I went up the stairs, following me in silent thought. Maybe I was being too harsh on him. We were having a good day, but then he made me feel guilty and I snapped, and it turned into a guilt-ridden afternoon, silence filling the already silent home. I hadn't asked for anyone's number, either, not even Allison's, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to contact anyone back home in fear that I'd become too homesick.

We gravitated towards our rooms in silence, before I let out a small noise of discomfort and glanced at Declan, stopping just as my hand went for the doorknob. "This is a new chapter for us, but I can't help staying in the past." I told him quietly, not meeting his eyes.

"I don't blame you." He responded, "We'll get through this together."

"What do you think of me, after... everything?"

Declan stared at me for a moment or two, the wheels in his head turning rapidly. It was a small while before he spoke, a small smile twitching at his lips. "I think you're strong."

'Strong' was not a word that described Olive Taisch. At least, it hadn't in a good while, and the hole in my chest seemed to fill-up at this, while the tears that had been held at bay since we left school finally came raining down. Declan swooped in in an instant, hugging me as I created a dark spot on his clean shirt.

"I miss him so much, Declan." I managed to choke out, my throat aching from holding tears. It was hard to imagine that it had been five months without him already, and four since I was expelled.

"I know you do." Declan said, rubbing my back in a comforting way. He never did approve of him, for reasons I wasn't exactly proud of and didn't like to discuss because I was a changed person, but he knew how much he had meant to me.

"Just think, though," he murmured as my crying slowly came to a stop, "you made it an entire school day without getting emotional, and without him."

"I've made it days without him before," I sniffled, pulling away from him as I wiped my eyes, suddenly feeling embarrassed over my small breakdown. He had just called me strong, and here I was, bawling like a baby.

"But this is different. Like you said, this is a new chapter for both of us - more so you, but that's okay. I don't think I could stay in that town any longer, either." Declan explained, glancing down at the wet spot on his shirt.

"I made you leave all your friends." I whispered, hugging myself around the middle. Words were spewing from my mouth before I could stop them. "You had to leave Sam 'cause of me."

"I'll make new ones - I already made four today." Declan smiled slightly, "and Sam and I were bound to break up anyways."

"You're only saying that because I just cried my freaking eyes out." I mumbled, still refusing to look at him. "I'm so stupid."

"Olive, for the love of God, shut up." He murmured, "It's been a weird year, and we're getting through it, one day at a time."

I couldn't help the small twitch at the corner of my lip, pulling up into a small smile as I wiped my eyes hastily. Inhale, exhale, that was all it took.

"Tomorrow's another day." I snuck a glance up at him to see that he gave me a small smile too.

"Exactly.. Plus, I don't think Sam liked me much, anyways."

I let out a snort, which turned into a small laugh, which turned into full-on laughter that must've been contagious, because Declan started laughing, too. We stood there, laughing until our stomachs started hurting, out of relief, out of built up feelings, out of anything that hung in the air like smoke.

Tomorrow was another day, and I would make it my bitch.

* * *

**So, this is the official first chapter of my Teen Wolf fanfic! There's more to come, because I'm hardly done with the first episode, but seeing as this is at 5,000 words - I decided to post the first part of episode one. :)**

**Edit: I decided to extend the first chapter, seeing as the extended part would've gone to chapter two, and I realized that it was better to just put it the WHOLE day instead of cutting it in half, y'know? So chapter two will be the rest of the week, not just the other half of chapter one and then the week. **

**Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Bruises

**Wow, so I finally updated this after a month of barely even writing for my other story. I just want to say thank you to all of those who've reviewed, favorited, and followed this story, because it means so, so, so, so much to me! I've also deleted the prologue, which was completely terrible and I don't know why I wrote it in the first place - lets just say, when I saw that 400 people had read the prologue and only 100-something read the first chapter.. I realized it was unnecessary.**

**This chapter does have potentially triggering themes, mostly in the beginning and towards the end, which is arson and drug mention, so look out for those!**

* * *

Fire. Screams. A wolf howling in the background.

My voice became horse from screaming for so long, my nose burning from the smoke that it kept inhaling. I was trapped, along with other people, inside a burning house. Falling timbers fell from the second floor, knocking a small body to the floor, leaving them screaming for their parents, for anyone.

I clawed at the nearest opening, desperate to rip the bars that concealed it. I needed to save these people and myself before we burned alive. But as I tried to fight the other hands trying to get the bars off as well, I swore that I heard laughter beyond the screams, beyond the sounds of fire licking the house, beyond my normal hearing range. Beyond the black smoke that nearly blinded me, I could make out the silhouettes of people standing there, not helping save the people, but watching in anticipation.

My lungs burned and couldn't take in any more oxygen. I couldn't breathe in or out, which was slightly ironic as I began hyperventilating. There was no hope for any of these people, they were doomed to burn alive.. but was I?

In question, I turned around and ran towards the door, coughing out smoke and ash as I tried my best to breathe and dodge fallen objects at the same time. With watering eyes, I searched through smoke, fire, and bodies for the nearest entryway I could escape through. I wasn't the only one, however, because a man was staring at an opening before he glanced back at his family, seeing that they were doomed. He ran for it, and I followed behind him, desperate to live.

I followed him through a brick pathway to a burning living room, a piano falling over as we entered, sending a cascade of flames and piano keys onto the beautiful wood floor.

We slid towards the main entrance to the house, stopping in our tracks when we saw that the door was up in flames. Trying to open it was suicidal, so I looked around the room, searching for another way out. Where there was a house, there were windows, so I ran back to the room with the burning piano and went towards a window, running on pure adrenaline. With fumbling and sweaty fingers, all I could do was unlatch the lock to open it. My fingers pried under it, but couldn't open it, and I let out a frustrated, anxious shriek as the flames seemed to dance toward me.

I glanced over my shoulder to see the man that I had followed had somehow gotten out of the house - or out of my line of vision. I shuddered, fearing the worst, and turned back towards the window.

I wouldn't die here. I couldn't die here. I didn't even know where I was, or how I had ended up here! So, in a desperate attempt at safety, I punched a hole through the glass separating me from freedom and ignored the searing pain in my knuckles as I climbed out, coughing out more smoke, inhaling as much air as I could.

I closed my eyes tightly, the screams from the trapped family inside fading away like background music, and wished for them to somehow make it, but I knew it was no use. They were already gone.

Opening my eyes again, I looked up to the sky and saw that it was the full moon. Something inside me burned as if I was caught in the middle of the flames again, and I let out an unearthly scream that turned into a growl. My body screamed in pain for a reason I couldn't pinpoint, and I fell over into the leaf-scattered ground, letting the sound of part of the house caving in lulling me into unconsciousness.

"Hey!"

I sat up quickly, nearly falling out of my seat as I was woken up. Once maintaining my balance, I looked around for the person who had woken me up, my gaze settling on a guy who looked somewhat familiar.

"You're in my seat." He said, gesturing to the seat I almost fell out of, and I scrambled up.

"Sorry, sorry. All yours, man, I didn't know." I apologized quickly, my eyes wandering around the room. I wasn't in a burning house anymore, just the school lunchroom; which I'd rather be in right now, I was heavily deciding on.

He shrugged and sat in the formally occupied seat, watching me for a moment or two before opening his mouth again. "Didn't you sit with Scott and Stilinski yesterday?"

I nodded slowly, wiping excess drool from my mouth as I moved around the table and sat across from him. As soon as the bell rang for lunch, I went into the lunchroom, sat at a random table, and tried to get a good nap in. It was only the second day of school, so I had no idea that the tables were already established - plus, when I had sat with Stiles and Scott yesterday, it seemed like I was intruding on something important.

"So why are you sitting here?" He asked in an offhand voice, raising an eyebrow. I raised my own eyebrow, suddenly remembering who he was.

"You're Boyd, right?" I asked, snapping my fingers and pointing at him, "You're in my French class."

"Yeah," Boyd said slowly, "I am. Why?"

"I just remembered, sorry. I'm trying to remember everyone's names." I shrunk back slightly, afraid that I'd pissed him off somehow. Was it because I sat in his seat? "But, um, is it okay if I sit here? Because, if not, that's totally fine! I-I can move -"

"You can sit here." He murmured, effectively cutting me off, "it doesn't matter."

I shut my mouth, giving him a sheepish look as a curly-haired boy sat beside me, sending me a wide-eyed look. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, and he looked away quickly, causing Boyd to chuckle quietly.

"That's Issac." He told me, gesturing to the kid beside me, "He doesn't talk"

Issac made a small noise, nodding his head in my direction to prove Boyd's point. I turned towards him, waving at him and offering him a small smile. He glanced back at me, barely lifting his hand before he looked away again, an embarrassed tint to his cheeks.

"Issac and Boyd, got it." I pouted my lips, "I'm Olive."

"I know." They said at the same time, and Issac to shy away again, his face going redder. A small laugh escaped my lips at this.

"Good to know I'm famous." I flipped my hair in a Lydia-like fashion before I rested my head in my arms again, "Unless you meant it in a 'you're our next victim' way."

Boyd gave me a curious look, causing me to hide my face in my arms. _Don't push it, Olive, you're still the new girl._

I spent the remainder of lunch half-asleep, resting my eyes as I listened to the conversations around me. True to Boyd's word, Issac didn't talk unless he accidentally bumped his shoulder against mine, and even then, he was still shy about it. Boyd didn't talk either, he just read a book the whole time - and I was content with that. Sure, I could be really, really loud and obnoxious, but I liked to keep it calm and collected as well.

When the bell rung for lunch to end, I said goodbye to the two and went back to class, a small smile on my face. Who knew Beacon Hills would be full of such cute boys?

"Olive!"

A voice startled me out of my thoughts, and I whipped around to find the culprit to see that it was Allison, all shiny-haired and smiley. The girl was her own personal sunshine.

"Allison!" I yelled back at her, stopping right beside the classroom door so that she could talk to me.

"I didn't see you at lunch," she said, much quieter this time as she walked up to me, "I saved you a seat."

"Oh, I was napping at a table in the corner somewhere," I waved my hand around dismissively before hooking my arm through hers, dragging her into the classroom so we wouldn't be yelled at, "and I appreciate it, but, if you haven't noticed, Lydia doesn't exactly like me."

Allison placed her index finger on her lip with her free hand, feigning a pondering look before she pointed at me. "I thought I saw an orange cat curled up on one of the tables when I walked in, it must've been you." She smiled as she unwound our arms, stepping over to her desk, "and she doesn't not like you, she just... doesn't notice people who..."

"Aren't on her level?" I finished for her, sitting in my desk behind her. She swiveled around in her seat to face me, looking awkward.

"Y-yeah." She sent me a sheepish smile, "but you're on my level, if that counts for anything."

I put my hand on my chest, sending her a sweet smile. "Allison, I think I just fell in love with you. Guess Scott has to move over, 'cause you're mine."

Scott, who happened to be two rows across from us and in hearing range, turned towards us, a perplexed look on his face. "What?"

"Nothing." I replied in a sing-songy voice, smirking as Allison's face went pink. I relished in the fact that I could make people blush today.

When Scott turned away (but not without making googly eyes at Allison for a solid moment or two, and vice versa,) Allison took hold of her notebook and slapped me on the arm with it. "Olive!"

"Ouch! Ow, woman!" I grabbed the notebook from her hands, pursing my lips in concentration, "I declare my love for you, and you beat me?!"

"Ugh! I love you too!" She let out a frustrated sigh as she took back her notebook, "I was going to tell you something important before you interrupted me."

My eyebrows slid up in an interested arch, gesturing her to continue, and she did. "Scott.. asked me to the party on Friday last night."

I grinned widely, raising my eyebrows up and down in a Groucho Marx kind of way before they arched in confusion at the mention of a party. "Wait, what party?"

She gave me a weird look. "The party that Lydia's boyfriend invited us to, remember? And I told them that I had family night Friday."

I clicked my fingers, shaking my index finger at the ceiling. "Yeah, that was when I was zoning out, but now I know. . congratulations, by the way, but how are you going to get out of the family night thing?"

"Probably." Allison rolled her eyes goodnaturedly, "and I have no idea. Any ideas?"

"Tell her that family night was canceled because someone flipped over the monopoly board one-too many times." I nodded importantly as the teacher finally came into the room just as the late bell rung.

"No." Allison whispered to me, turning around in her seat so she wouldn't get in trouble. I stuck my tongue out at the back of her head, my eyes flickering to the person beside me who was snickering, who just happened to be Kennedy. I stuck my tongue out at her, too, before putting it where it rightfully belonged and trying not to zone out at the sound of class restarting.

"Wait, hey, Allison?" I whispered to her, "Do you think I could make the dance team?"

She turned her head, eyeing me weirdly before she turned back to the teacher, stifling laughter. Oh, rude.

"Or don't answer my question."

* * *

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I said no, wanna hear it again? No."

I crossed my arms angrily before throwing them up in the air, waving them around exaggeratedly and hoping somewhat that my hand would end up hitting him square in the face. Why I had waited until the day of the party to tell him that I was going to a party was for this exact reason. "What do you mean no?!"

Declan glared at me, grabbing both of my wrists to stop me from potentially hitting him. "You're not going to a party, Olive."

I scoffed loudly. "Glad you're finally putting on your big boy pants there, Declan, but I can go to a party if I want to."

"Did you forget what kind of place you were in last year?" He asked me angrily, and, in that moment, his grip around my wrists felt like they were pumping lead into my veins, flashes going through my vision as well as heavy beats. Colorful beams of lights swarming around me as the lights darkened, so I instinctively closed my eyes, feeling a rush of nostalgia and a small amount of anxiety before it was ripped away and I was back in my living room again.

I stepped back, rubbing at my wrists as I suddenly felt worn down, before I looked up at Declan in a mix of horror and confusion, which mirrored his own expression. "Declan... did you- did you see that, too?" I asked quietly.

He didn't reply, only nodding slightly before he ran a hand through his hair. It was a minute or two before he replied, but it felt more like an hour when he did. "I did."

My gaze focused on the picture frames behind my brother, unable to look at him. How did we both see my memories? Why did we see my memories? And why, pray tell, did it seem like this hadn't been the first time either of us had seen something that hadn't happened yet, or had happened before?

Because you saw one of your new friends saying "beautiful people heard together" on your first day, A voice whispered in my ear.

"Declan," I cleared my throat awkwardly, barely managing to make eye contact with him, "I'm going to that party tonight."

He didn't look at me either, his eyes searching around the room before he spoke. "Just don't get hurt, okay?"

I nodded, which wasn't good enough for him because he had reached for my shoulders. He pulled his arms back in second thought, finally looking me in the eye. "No, say okay."

"Okay." I quirked my mouth, moving passed him to go to my room and get ready, "I'll stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Okay." He replied as I began heading up the stairs, him staying statue still that was completely unnerving. On the last step, I turned around, poking my head out from behind the banister.

"Hey, I love you." I said, a little too loud due to me practically cracking under the tension in the room. He turned, the corners of his lips twitching slightly, "I love you too."

My bedroom was my savior, in all it's overly-postered glory, and I sighed a breath of relief when I shut the door behind me. It was slightly unnerving what I had just witnessed, but it didn't mean anything important, did it? Maybe we were both falling into the syndrome the town seemed to have - insanity - I mean, Placebo effect was a real thing. It wouldn't be the first time that I had thought I was seeing things. It had to be the town, it had to be.

_But why did Declan see that, too?_

I slapped my palm against my forehead. Get ready for the party, you idiot, shut the hell up and work on that horrible excuse for an outfit. I slapped my forehead again for emphasis to myself. Work on your issues later, this is your first party in a long while.

* * *

In the end I had went with a black crop top and plaid skirt with a spiked leather belt, accessorized with my favorite creepers and gold necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings. Needless to say, I had went all out. I still didn't fit in with pretty much everyone here, but it felt great to not worry about the things that I used to worry about constantly. It was as if I hadn't spent a month in my room, kept away from any human contact.

But it didn't help the fact that the house was a mess of sweaty, flailing bodies. If I had known that people were going to be this rambunctious and horny, I wouldn't have promised Declan that I wouldn't get hurt. I mean it. These people were throwing all their cards on the table, and when I say cards, I mean body parts that shouldn't have been seen in public.

I dodged past the crowd and went towards the refreshments, thanking God quietly for not having a bunch of teenagers crowded around here, too. The only people I saw were loners or people like me trying to get away from the crowd, which caused me to smile when I saw that Stiles was one of the loners.

In my week of going to Beacon Hills High, it was safe to say that Stiles and I were two peas in a pod, as Forrest Gump would say. Sure, his best friend was Scott and when I sat with them at lunch again on Wednesday and Friday (Thursday with Boyd and Issac) they acted weird and gave off vibes that I was intruding on something important, we were both sarcastic assholes to each other and fit the role of 'girl best friend' and 'boy best friend.'

A part of me told myself that I only wanted to get close to him because he reminded me of... him, but I ignored that, reminding myself that I was here for a fresh start.

Since I had yet to see Kennedy, I went ahead and walked up to Stiles, grabbing a bottle of whatever was on the table, opening it, and practically chugging it when it didn't taste half bad. I glanced at the boy, taking in his overly-dressed appearance that I found slightly adorable, and followed the direction his eyes were set in - which just happened to lead to Lydia, who was basically doing the do with Jackson on a pillar by the pool.

I had also learned in my time here that Stiles was hopelessly in love with Lydia Martin, who was strawberry blonde, an inch taller than me, and really smart but no one knew because she hid it to maintain her popularity.

Whoopdee-freakin'-doo.

"Hey." I nudged him in the ribs, taking another drink of the fizzy whatever that burnt my throat but made me feel oh-so-good.

He jumped nearly a foot in the air, putting a hand over his heart dramatically. "Oh, God, it's just you. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

"Well, if you stopped watching Lydia being pile-driven by her douche boyfriend over there, I wouldn't have scared you." I replied, setting the bottle down on the table behind me.

"I'll have you know-" he pointed a finger at me, shaking it slightly before he looked at me, looking take aback, "- that you, uh, look nice. Very rock and roll."

This caught me off guard, but caused me to smile sheepishly. "Thanks, that was the plan." I gestured to his outfit with my hand, "You look very... dressed."

"Are you saying that I shouldn't be dressed?" Stiles asked, his ears turning red.

"Yes?" I answered slowly, narrowing my eyes before widening them considerable, "I mean no! Or, yes! Yes, uh, you should be dressed! No to being undressed, not that that would be bad!"

Oh for the love of God, shut up before you embarrass yourself even more.

Stiles stared at me for a moment, his mouth opening and closing before he kept it closed. Finally he laughed, which caused me to laugh too. We laughed for a small moment before growing quiet again, taking in the noise around us.

"I'll take that as a compliment, by the way." He said, poking me in the side. This was bad because a.) I squealed so loud people on the other side of the world could probably hear me, and b.) this gave Stiles a reason to bother me more.

"Holy God - was that, was that you?!" He laughed loudly, poking me again to confirm his suspicions. I swatted at his hand, grabbing his finger forcefully while showing him my favorite finger. "Hey, rude!"

I opened my mouth to retort but cut myself off when a familiar beat blared through the air, a song I didn't even know people my age liked. I grinned, letting go of Stiles' finger as I swayed, "I freakin' love this song."

Stiles studied me for half a second, looking a bit flustered. "Do you want to dance, then?"

I glanced at him, my lips twitching before I nodded. "Sure." I answered, "but beware, I'm kind of a dancer. It's in my blood."

"Well, beware, because I'm going to step all over your feet."

Letting out a loud, slightly embarrassing laugh, I grabbed his arm and hauled him out onto the patio by Scott and Allison, waving at both of them before jamming in front of Stiles, not giving a damn if I was embarrassing myself. Thankfully Stiles had the same idea, finding the beat easy to flail his arms to.

"I tried to do handstands for you,

I tried to do handstands for you,

Every time I fell on you, yeah

Every time I fell.

I tried to do handstands for you

But every time I fell for you,

I'm permanently black and blue,

Permanently blue for you."

The song wasn't exactly the best to softly mosh to, but it was fun to let go right there, letting all my worries go as I danced with one of my friends. I didn't have to worry about anxiety or my emotions or anything like that. Care free was something I could get used to.

"I tried to do handstands for you,

I tried to do handstands for you,

Every time I fell on you, yeah

Every time I fell.

I tried to do handstands for you

But every time I fell for you,

I'm permanently black and blue,

Permanently blue for youuuuu.."

By now people had moved away from us in fear of getting hit, which made me laugh when I thought about it. Death by getting hit by dancers, could you imagine?

Stiles caught on to that, too, and we shared a look that said, "these people obviously can't handle our swag." Which made me want to laugh more because it made me think of that one song lyric, 'Club can't even handle me right now.'

Obviously I had had too much of whatever it was I drank, which was obviously alcohol, but it could've been obviously drugged and I was too stupid to not see that it was obvious that it was drugged.

"I grabbed some frozen strawberries so I could ice your bruising knees,

But frozen things, they all unfreeze and now I taste like

all those frozen strawberries I used to chill your bruising knees,

Hot July ain't good to me

I'm pink and black and blue

For you."

"But why strawberries?" Stiles asked me, his eyes quizzical, "and why is she tasting him?"

"Shh," I put my fingers to my lips, "don't ruin the cute song with your weird mind."

He rolled his eyes, shaking his hands before grabbing my own and dancing around ballroom-style, humming to the song as we moved through the crowd of people.

"Stiles!" I yelled, unable to control my laughter, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Having fun!" He replied, spinning me around before releasing me. When I came to a stop and stared him down, he simply bowed.

I rolled my eyes, a little disappointed that I didn't get to hear the end of the song before I perked up again, moving to the beat of the newest song.

"Is this Deadmau5?" I asked aloud, gravitating back over to Stiles, who was looking at me weirdly.

"You listen to Deadmau5?" He asked me, jerking his head in the way he always did.

"Of course I do." I replied, "Do you?"

"Of course." He gestured to the speakers surrounding the pool, "Up for round two?"

I opened my mouth to respond but decided that it was best not to. Instead I danced to the beat, moving my hips a little too friendly near my guy friend - but what could I say; this was one of the songs that brought out my inner stripper.

Stiles opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, begging for air or water or whatever, as I danced by him. He was caught off guard, however, as Scott barreled past us, holding his head and looking completely out of it.

"Whoa, Scott, you good?" Stiles asked, but Scott shook his head, hurrying towards the front door.

Stiles looked back at me with an apologetic face, "I'll see you-" but he didn't finish as he ran after Scott.

I felt abandoned, but it was obvious that something was wrong with Scott. Still, I chased after the two with Allison, who was shouting Scott's name and looking just as upset as I was.

Scott drove off anyways, Stiles following after him, and I let out an annoyed sigh. I get that the two were best friends and obviously knew each other for a while, therefore I wasn't getting in the way of that (and I didn't want to,) but, damn, did it always feel like I was a third wheel or that I was intruding on something - so this was just freaking perfect.

"Is he alright? Did I - did I do something?!" Allison's worried tone cut me off from all the possibly-murderous thoughts that were running through my mind, and I swiftly turned towards her, taking in her upset appearance, "Olive, do you know what happened?!"

"I have no idea." I came towards her, pulling her into a hug because it seemed to be the best option, seeing as she looked 5 seconds away from crying her eyes out. "I have absolutely no idea."

"Allison, Olive," A new, gruff voice sounded beside us, and we both turned around to see a devastatingly attractive man with the presence of a serial killer. Oh sweet baby Jesus, I thought, this is it, this is the end, murdered by a hot piece of ass, "I'm a friend of Scott's."

This guy doesn't even look like he's been in high school for ten years. "Are you? Are you really?" I asked aloud, removing my arm from around Allison. I wasn't going to lie, I found this guy menacing, but if he was going to kidnap and murder Allison and I, I wasn't going down without a fight.

We both turned around to watch as Scott drove down the street, as well as Stiles, and I narrowed my eyes. There was definitely something weird going on with this town, and those two had something to do with it.

"Yeah, my name's Derek." I turned back around and let out a small gasp as he had stepped up towards us while I was turned around, my face nearly going into his chest. Who in the holy hell was this man, and did he have no respect for personal space?

"He told me to give you guys a ride home. He wasn't feeling very well tonight, so he asked me to come by, just in case."

I didn't believe this for a minute, and by the look on her face, Allison didn't either. "You? Are you - are you sure? I mean, no offense or anything, but aren't you a little old to be at a high school party?" She asked boldly.

Derek didn't back down, just continued to smile. "Yeah, but you can trust me."

"I'm sure Jeffrey Dahmer said the same thing." I murmured. His eyes flickered toward me, unamused, and I shrunk back.

Allison turned towards me, her expression a tad scared. "Maybe we can trust him. He looks trustable, Olive."

I pursed my lips, glancing at this 'Derek' before closing my eyes. "Allison, I could easily call my brother and give you a ride home."

"Olive... look, I-I trust Scott, and him, so I think I'll take up his offer." Allison told me, and I sighed heavily.

If Allison was getting a ride with him, then, damn it all, I was too. There was no way in hell I was leaving her with this guy. New girls stick together, new girls get brutally murdered together.

"Yeah, okay, alright." I rubbed my eyes, my lower lid twitching in annoyance, "I'll get a ride too, then. Sorry for the Dahmer thing."

Derek nodded, gesturing to a sick black Camaro. My jaw fell open at the sight of it, before I firmly closed my mouth, getting in silently behind Allison. His car was cold and leathery and it seemed to fit perfectly with his appearance.

Once he got in and started the car, my anxiety levels went through the roof, and I trained my eyes on the locks on the windows, waiting for him to lock them. But, to my surprise and gnawing suspicion, he never locked them.

_Damn it, Stiles! Why did you have to freaking leave and land me in this situation?!_

Derek asked us questions, a whole bunch, but I stayed quiet - apart from giving him the address to the house beside mine. (Giving him my address? No thank you.) It was unnerving just how focused on Scott he seemed to be, mostly asking if we had seen anything, if he had seemed different, etc. I hadn't seen anything, really, except for the fact that he had barreled past Stiles and I while clutching his head.

Thankfully, he dropped me off first, though this did leave Allison alone with this man in his car. Before I got out, however, I made sure to ask her to text me when she got home safely. It wasn't much, and for all I knew, he could take her phone and text me for her, but something told me that she'd be alright.

I scampered across my neighbor's yard and into my own yard, not caring if Derek was watching me or not. If he was, well, I'd deal with it - I wasn't completely helpless, like I had proved four months ago, I could throw a good punch or two, or shove his face into the nearest table. Hastily, I ran to the side of my house where I knew my bedroom was, putting my foot on a ledge and standing on my toes to reach my window sill. I could've easily texted Declan to let me in, but I wanted to see if I was rusty with sneaking in my own house.

Gritting my teeth as I pulled up, damning my poor upper arm strength, I lost my footing and fell backwards - right into the arms of someone. Fearing the worst, I flailed around, attempting to leave the person's grip; I ceased, however, when a familiar voice rang out.

"This is why you use the front door." Declan hissed in my ear, dodging my hands as he released me and backed away, not looking very pleased. "Afraid I was somebody else? Yeah, you should've been."

I slowly put my arms back at my sides, but, in a sudden act of defiance, crossed them over my chest and stared him down. "You don't have to baby me, Declan, I'm fine. Who was afraid? I wasn't," I glanced around our lawn before looking back at him, "How did you even know I was out here?"

He rolled his eyes and pointed upwards towards my open window before pointing back at me. "You always keep your window open when you go out." All reminders of our previous encounter fizzled out as I took in his annoyed appearance - Declan may look as though he rolls around with puppies in fields of flowers and have rainbows shooting out of his ass, but he isn't like that in personality, and that enough is frightening - "You didn't text me, call me, anything, you just went on and decided to sneak in as if I couldn't give you a ride."

"Yeah, but how did you come out here so fast? How'd you know I fell?" I asked him, my eyes flickering to the window.

"I was in the kitchen and I saw you running across the neighbor's yard." In the moonlight and faint light source coming from our house, I saw him smirk before his expression went neutral again, "So I hid in the bushes to try and scare you - but you fell, so I caught you instead. I didn't have to, but I didn't want you to break your neck, either."

I gave him a look before rolling my eyes, turning on my heel, and marching towards the front of the house, up the porch steps, and into the house, where the front door was ajar from Declan leaving it open. He followed behind me, probably thinking up ways to get back at me for defying him. He was strong and silent, another reason why he was slightly terrifying to me.

"But at least you're okay… aren't you?" He asked suddenly as we crossed the living room and towards the stairs. Our parents weren't down here, so they must've been upstairs asleep. As if it mattered.

Considering this, my thoughts jumbled around in my head, reminding me that Stiles had completely left me at the party with barely a goodbye - although Scott had been sick, or, at least, I thought he had gotten sick. Were he and Stiles some kind of male scum that danced with girls at parties for a bet, made up some excuse to leave like they weren't feeling well or something, then ran off, high-fived each other, and exchanged their bet money because they didn't expect Allison or I to be so desperate as to dance with them? Well, if that was the case, then Allison and I wouldn't have a problem with showing them how not-desperate we were.

"Maybe. I got ditched at the party, given a ride by a strange, but attractive, man who I totally left my other friend with, and nearly had a heart attack because you came out of nowhere and saved me from falling two freaking feet off a ledge." I snapped, climbing up the stairs and stomping my feet ever-so-slightly.

"What?! Hold on, who ditched you?" He asked in a true Declan fashion, ignoring the fact that I had been giving a ride home by a stranger and instead jumping on the fact that I was ditched, "Was it a guy?"

Rubbing at my eyes tiredly, most likely smearing my eyeliner everywhere, I jumped on the last step and headed into the hallway. "Yes, it was a guy. It's… not a big deal, I guess. One of our friends got sick so he went to check on him."

"Then why do you sound so mad?"

"I get mad at everything, Declan."

"That's true - wait, one of 'our' friends as in yours and his? Is he one of those guys that you hang out with at school?"

"Yeah, the one with the buzz cut."

"The one who looks like-"

I turned around swiftly, my eyes daring him to say another word, before I turned back around, went into my room, and slammed the door in his face. There were too many reminders of him everywhere - how was I supposed to start anew when everyone was always throwing it back in my face, unintentional or not? I've spent a week in Beacon Hills, and even then, the past can't seem to escape me.

Even when I didn't think about what had happened, I was thinking about it. I could still see him everywhere. Hell, I could even hear him sometimes, whispering 'Good job, babe' in my ear. Is this what I would spend the rest of my life with? The haunting remains of my dead boyfriend?

_Give it time, darling, just give it time._ My ears pricked up at the sound, but I shook my head, deciding to take a shower since I still had other people's sweat sticking to my body. The thought of this made me gag, and I immediately headed towards my bathroom, ready to wash off the grime from today.

* * *

40 minutes later, I sat on my bed with my laptop in front of me, scrolling through tumblr without a care in the world. I had showered, calmed down, and apologized to Declan for being so moody, so all I had left to do was reblog a few things before I went to bed - or maybe I'd watch Skins. It depended on if I were tired or not.

As I hit reblog on some post about All Time Low, the doorbell rang, causing me to furrow my eyebrows in confusion. It was 11 o'clock at night, and this town was racking up a body count (half of a body found so far,) so I was sure as hell not going to go downstairs and open the door. This was how people in horror movies died.

However, due to my hearing becoming about 50% focused due to fear, I heard a familiar, rambling voice talking to my brother and hurriedly got up to see why in the holy hell Stiles was at my house - and why he knew where I lived.

"Olive!" Declan yelled up to me as I went down the hallway and towards the banister, "It's for you!"

I leaned against the railing, looking down at them both with an unamused expression before slowly walking down the stairs. Stiles watched me walk down, his previously anxious expression becoming relaxed as I came into view. This caused me to curl my lip up at him.

"Nice of you to ditch me, Stilinski." I said calmly, my eyes giving away that I was pissed.

Stiles opened his mouth to reply, but Declan stepped in, his eyes narrowing at him. "Wait, you're the guy who ditched my sister and made her get a ride from some creep?"

He opened and closed his mouth before clearing his throat, leaning against the doorframe. "Y-yeah, that's me. I can explain though!" Stiles sent me a pleading look, nodding his head towards my livid brother, "Scott got sick and I had to make sure he was alright."

"Well, is he?" I asked, my face softening before the scam idea came through my head, "Or do you two take pleasure in making bets to see who would be desperate enough to dance with you at a party?"

"What?" Stiles looked like a confused puppy the way he was squinting his eyes, and I felt slightly bad, slightly, "Scott and I - Scott and I would never do that! Ever! Scott'll be.. alright, but I swear that we've never done that."

I crossed my arms over my chest, sighing quietly. I really had to cool it with the attitude today. "Okay, well... tell him that I hope he's okay." I murmured, resting my gaze on the wall beside him. Stiles looked too much like _him_ that it physically hurt to look at him. "And... sorry for, um, being hateful."

"I will, and it's fine." Stiles patted the doorframe and tucked his bottom lip between his teeth, "Hey, it's totally fine. I shouldn't have left like I did - I had fun, though."

I couldn't help but smile softly, though that smile turned into a grin as I realized another point he needed to make. "So did I. But... Stiles? How do you know where I live?"

His ears turned as red as my hair as he stammered for an answer, "My-my dad is the Sheriff, and I may have..." he made a hand motion of going through a drawer, "looked in your file when I saw that you had one.."

Declan stared at Stiles with burning hatred. Stiles, taking notice of this, squirmed as he stood before glancing over his shoulder outside. "I should go home now, before my dad gets mad."

"Yeah," Declan said slowly, narrowing his eyes ever-so-slightly, "You should do that."

I let out a huff at him before turning back to Stiles, actually looking at him this time. "Thanks for checking up on me, I guess. You just saved yourself from a world of trouble."

He let out a shaky laugh, nodding his head and looking down at his shoes, "I guess I did. I'll see, uh, you at school. See ya, Olive."

"Bye Stiles." I leaned against the pole of the banister, waving at him as he turned and went out the door, waving back at me.

"Bye." Declan said loudly, waving as well before slamming the door behind him. "Olive, why?"

"Why what?" I fumed, rounding on him, "Why to having a friend who at least apologizes and checks up on me after ditching me at a party?"

Declan opened his mouth before firmly closing it for a moment or two, thinking up something to say. "I don't like him."

"You said the same thing about-" I cut myself off, pressing my lips together quickly. Damn my big mouth!

"This kid better not get you on drugs too, Olive." He said in a low voice, glaring at me before passing me, storming upstairs without so much as another word, leaving me to stand there in shock.

"Wait, Declan-" I chased after him, cursing myself in my head. But he just went in his room and slammed the door in my face, much like I had earlier. "I'm sorry. I-"

But I didn't have any words to say to him except for sorry, and that seemed to be the only word on the tip of everyone's tongue lately that it felt weird on my own, to be on the other side of the story. All I had to say was that I wasn't that person anymore.

I went to my room silently, turned my laptop and lights off, and laid in bed, curling up under the fluffy covers. I wanted to be upset over what had happened in the span of five minutes, but I just didn't have it in me; the only thing that mattered to be was that Stiles had checked on me to see if I was okay. Unlike... him, Stiles actually checked on me instead of texting me and asking if I was alright.

Even if the past was still coming back to haunt me, at least a new life was floating towards me, trying to lift me up.

Turning on my side, I stared at the full moon through my window for a minute or so before closing my eyes, letting the sound of a wolf howling lull me to sleep.

* * *

**Good? Bad? You tell me. I hope it's up to par.. writing Teen Wolf fanfiction is kind of nerve wracking. Also, if you want to know what song Olive and Stiles were dancing to, it is Bruises by Chairlift. :)**

**Happy reading!**


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